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Stability for whom?
Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, June 16, 2017
Aurora College is still in limbo. It's 'foundational review' is months away - at earliest -- and the only thing the government seems to have done worth noting is axe its board.

Last week, Education Minister Alfred Moses replaced the Aurora College board of governors with an administrator. His reasoning? To better support the review of the college's operation.

The idea that axing a school's management structure provides stability is puzzling at best. How does getting rid of the board accomplish that?

Yellowknife Centre MLA Julie Green was on to something when she said this move appears to be punishment for the college's decision to cut its social work and teacher education programs after the government told the college to trim $1.9 million in spending. The program cuts were controversial at best and have put heavy pressure on Moses in the legislative assembly.

The uproar led to a petition presented to the legislative assembly as MLAs lobbied to restore funding and then -- suddenly, in March --- the time-purchasing 'foundational review' magically appeared. Now, poof, the board has disappeared.

The good news for Aurora is that the budget cuts were frozen until the review is complete; the bad news is, so were admissions.

So while the wait for the review continues, no students are being admitted to Northern social work and teacher education programs -- no next generation of graduates are being introduced locally in areas that are critically important for Northern communities.

One has to wonder, even if the review is completed by fall whether these programs will survive the enrolment suspension.

There are no guarantees the college's board will be back either.

As it stands, all the minister has accomplished on this file is save a bit of money while putting the long-term viability of the college's flagship education programs in jeopardy.


Bureaucracy shouldn't impede democracy
Weekend Yellowknifer - Friday, June 16, 2017

Financial transparency is important for fair elections but bureaucracy shouldn't be a barrier to attracting candidates to run in them.

Election rules in the Northwest Territories draw heavily on laws from other jurisdictions down south. These jurisdictions are typically more urban and have larger populations who have greater access to banks, governments and other institutions.

Last week, the NWT's chief electoral officer Nicole Latour made a number of recommendations in a committee meeting about relaxing a few of the territory's election laws.

First and foremost, she suggested the government do away with the requirement for candidates to provide statements from banks in their financial reports -- given that it was causing major headaches on both sides -- and allow a designated accounting official of some kind to approve the paperwork.

Latour got it half right. But she should be careful about what sort of official gets approved for this task. If she is talking about chartered accountants they are as rare as banks in the smaller communities.

A more practical solution would be to have candidates fill out a spreadsheet and then someone could guarantee it, not unlike finding a guarantor for a passport.

Another suggestion, to increase the penalty for failing to file candidate financial reports to $5,000 from $250 is way too high of an amount, and will surely only serve to dissuade people from running.

The chief electoral officer's other suggestion of a $50 a day fine for late financial reports is far more reasonable.

Elections need to be free and fair but good candidates shouldn't be scared off by red tape and fines.


Bait thieves with kindness
Inuvik Drum - Thursday, June 15, 2017

As remarkably friendly as the people of Inuvik are, no community is free of troublemakers.

The John Wayne Kiktorak Centre, Inuvik Community Greenhouse and Aurora College have all been victims of break-ins in recent weeks.

It's hard to pick out worse places for people to deliberately damage. You've got a shelter for people in need, a beloved community resource and an educational institution. Maybe the hospital would rank well as the next target - really take out the pillars of society.

Often, people who steal and cause such mischief are in a poor state themselves, whether in a dire situation financially or subject to morality-altering drugs and substances.

Stealing from the John Wayne Kiktorak Centre, a facility specifically for such people who need help, is a bizarre and seemingly incongruous move.

Then again, hypocrisy might not be a thought on the perpetrators' minds, more focused on any opportunity to steal what they can.

The crimes may not all be related, but there is a clear common denominator: mischief is attracted to goodness.

Therefore, perhaps we could construct the ultimate trap for these troublemakers and misfits like them.

It has to be more supportive than a food bank, more educational than a college and more comforting than a homeless shelter.

No doubt it should serve the elderly, the youth, the disadvantaged, those who just need a friend and anyone who would like a hug.

However we shape it, it must be a bastion of pure support and community betterment, existing solely to improve the lives of people in Inuvik with no possible debate about its intentions.

Then, we advertise this fact. We sing its praises in the media, the streets and the coffee shops. We create a fake building with a big, bright sign. Perhaps we call it The Inuvik House of Happiness, Love, Freedom and Prosperity.

And below that sign, we list our business hours, conveniently ending at 9 p.m. each night.

The goodness within will draw thieves like flies to honey.

Once the prey enter the house, the door automatically locks behind them, trapping them inside, while a spring mechanism in the floor launches them across the room so they cannot use new entries to make their escape.

We could leave this going for a good week or two to make sure we catch all of the troublemakers in town. A few buckets of river water left inside the building will ensure the captives do not die in the meantime.

Surveillance cameras could live-stream the would-be thieves' compromising situation, creating something of Inuvik's own Big Brother show.

When it seems like the flow of inmates has trickled to a halt, the RCMP simply barge in and arrest them all. Or we just leave them there and go about our lives.

In times like these, ingenuity is needed in dealing with those who wish to dim the bright lights of our community.

If it can entertain us at the same time, that's two birds with one stone.


Good question, Mr. O'Reilly!
Yellowknifer - Wednesday, June 14, 2017

"I tried."

This is all Frame Lake MLA Kevin O'Reilly could say for his efforts after asking several times why the Public Utilities Board exists if the territorial government is going to tell it what to do anyway.

The issue came up June 5, during a Standing Committee on Economic Development meeting. Glen Abernethy, minister responsible for the Public Utilities Board (PUB), was taking questions about the board and O'Reilly seized the opportunity to ask the million-dollar question.

In fact, this is a question Yellowknifer has asked many times in the past. The Public Utilities Board exists to consider power-rate applications from Northland Utilities and the NWT Power Corporation, the two entities that provide power to all NWT communities. But power corp. is owned by the GNWT, the PUB is chaired by a group of GNWT deputy ministers and the PUB's decision-making capacities are driven by GNWT directives.

One recent directive is to limit all power-rate increases to an additional one-per-cent change annually.

If the PUB can only adjust power rates by one per cent annually, why even have a PUB at all?

Abernethy argued the PUB has the ability to interpret directives.

Yellowknifer is interested to know what other interpretations there are to a one-per-cent limit on rate increases, because it sure seems like a straightforward edict from this vantage point. To cut to the chase, Abernethy is simply toeing the status quo, and the status quo is a Public Utilities Board with very little independence or power.

In the absence of the PUB, the GNWT could streamline power-rate decisions and save money for more important things.

MLAs could take complaints from communities served by the power corp. as they no doubt already do, considering how often the cost of energy comes up in the legislative assembly.

O'Reilly is absolutely right to question the role of the PUB. It is clearly a redundant fixture and good on the Frame Lake MLA for recognizing this and challenging its existence.


Student cellphone ban a no-brainer
Yellowknifer - Wednesday, June 14, 2017

William McDonald Middle School's cellphone ban seems to be a popular proposal.

With 93 per cent of parents who responded to the school's survey on the issue in favour of it, the decision seems like a slam dunk.

As it is right now, Willie Mac students are allowed to use their cellphones during lunch and activity hour.

The ban, which would start in the upcoming school year, would relegate phones to student lockers from arrival at school until 3:20 p.m.

What possible downside to this could there be?

Cellphones are highly addictive devices for adults and youth alike.

Why should teachers be competing with Instagram and Snapchat for their students' attention? Parents can still get a hold of their children the old-fashioned way - by calling the front desk.

In fact, it's surprising more schools aren't doing this.

It's time for schools to put the hammer down on cellphones because there is no reason for students to be distracted by gifs when they should be learning geometry.


All Pepper was supposed to be, and more!
Editorial Comment by Darrell Greer
Kivalliq News - Wednesday, June 14, 2017

After what seemed like years (it was actually about six weeks) of waiting after pre-ordering my copy of the remixed 50th anniversary edition of the Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, I opened my mailbox on June 5 to see a little white parcel card staring out at me.

Could it be? Dare I hope?

After handing over the card and waiting a few more hours (seconds), I knew as soon as our friendly post office worker came around the corner that Pepper had landed.

At exactly 4:49:45, I zoomed out of my office and was heading home to audio bliss when I realized I hadn't set the office alarm, or, for that matter, ensured the door was locked.

D'oh!!

After another 10 minutes of self-inflicted torture, I was finally home gazing apprehensively at my deluxe box edition (you never really doubted it, did you?). The packaging was immaculate and there were all sorts of little treasurers inside to grab my attention on another day.

You never really know what awaits with remixes, but I had faith in Giles Martin, son of legendary Beatles producer George Martin, and everything I had read on the remix up to that point was overwhelmingly positive.

But this is Pepper, an album I couldn't take the wildest guess at how many times I've listened to since its release. I know every song, every nuance and every riff upside-down, inside-out and all-around. So, really, how much better can it be?

My OPPO universal disk player gently welcomed Pepper inside, the laser spun and my Axiom M80 speakers sprang to life, and the music they produced was magnificent.

Martin did an incredible job pulling the stereo placement together. The sound was balanced, rich and full, if just a touch "loud." The lead vocals took centre stage and, for the first time, I heard the Beatles harmonies on Pepper wonderfully spread out, surrounding me in a way I'd never experienced before.

But, as each song danced past my ears and into my soul, I realized what was blowing my mind was the clarity the remix possessed. Paul McCartney's bass playing jumps at you from the speakers with a plucky, melodic weight that often demands your attention.

John Lennon's double-tracked vocals are pristine, and more soaked in emotion than ever on the new mix, with Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kyte being positively reborn in a swirling, cascading dance of hypnotic sound and captivating voice.

Martin has brought the drums a lot more forward in the mix, and everything from Ringo's high-hat swiping, to his light cymbal riding, and always incredible less-is-more fills and impeccably-timed rolls are so clear as to be almost downright vivid, at times.

Another thing Martin does with his remix is to place backing and secondary instruments smartly in the mix, where they add colour and warmth to the overall sound. They now help accent various parts of a track, rather than jar you with a shot of sound straight out of left field.

With Martin's new mix, their placement is subtle. He gets rid of, once and for all, the panned hard left or hard right placements that not only took away from the song they were supposed to help flush out, but were also one of the things that helped keep music purists on the outs with stereo sound for so many years, not to mention out of England for almost even longer.

I have always sworn by mono when it comes to the music of the Beatles, and I've never had a stereo mix come even remotely close to changing my mind, but this mix really stands out. Who knows? Maybe the clarity will becoming fatiguing after so many listens, but, for now, it's enlightening.

If you're a Beatles fan, or you just like the Sgt. Pepper album, it would be well worth your while to add Martin's remix to your collection. It's definitely a keeper.


Scheer's views on North unclear
Northwest Territories/News North - Monday, June 12, 2017

It appears the freshly minted Conservative Party of Canada leader knows far more about cows than caribou.

In fact, Regina-Qu'Appelle MP Andrew Scheer didn't have much to say about the North, or its indigenous people in the run-up to the May 27 leadership convention.

It's actually quite impossible to determine the Tories' stand on the North, or really very much on its view on handling relations with Canada's First Nations people.

The last Conservative government passed the First Nations Transparency Act, which compelled the leadership of the more than 500 First Nations to have their financial statements published.

Scheer's policy page states the disclosure requirements of the First Nations Transparency Act must be enforced so that First Nations can once again hold their leaders to account. That's it. That's all News/North could find.

And that's sheer nonsense if that's the only policy the Conservatives are going to have when it comes to Canada's indigenous people and the North.

Sure, there isn't a very prominent Tory presence in the NWT - our political playbills usually feature Liberals or New Democrats - but the current crop of right wingers need to look beyond Ottawa and help us keep the true North strong and free.

While the last Conservative prime minister, Stephen Harper, was not without fault, Northern development appeared to be a priority for him.

For example, Harper made possible the Inuvik-to-Tuktoyaktuk highway, an all-season road that finally connects communities in the Beaufort Delta to the rest of Canada's road network.

Having that connection would be much better utilized if Liberal Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hadn't imposed a five-year ban on oil exploration and drilling.

In fact, that's another sign that many, many politicians in the south have no clue about the needs of people in the North.

Common wisdom holds that Scheer narrowly edged out Maxime Bernier as he was the safer pick. Scheer's support from grain farmers in the Prairies and the Quebec dairy industry is strong.

News/North may support Scheer's vow, if elected prime minister, to cancel the Liberals' carbon tax should the Liberals fail to offer up some mitigating measures that address our high cost of living - largely caused by our heavy reliance on diesel energy.

That tax could see prices skyrocket in the already expensive North.

Scheer also deserves kudos for a policy to reduce the cost of airfare in Canada. While it was likely written with southern Canada in mind, there would be intense lobbying from the North to get cheaper flights as well.

So we encourage Mr. Scheer to come up to the NWT for a visit. Not to just settle into a hotel meeting room in Yellowknife but to travel to some of the many communities and meet the people.

Get to know what life is like up here and develop some policies that will help us have better lives as we hold down the Northern fort for Canada.


Tiny blips on federal radar
Nunavut/News North - Monday, June 12, 2017

Last month, the Auditor General of Canada tabled a report stating that Transport Canada was neglecting remote Northern airports, and anyone who has visited their share of Nunavut airports would not be surprised by this fact.

Poor planning in the early days of Nunavut's communities means today we are stuck with Pangnirtung unable to handle planes large enough to fly in an emergency generator in the wake of the power plant fire. In Kimmirut, planes have to land on and launch off the side of a cliff in such a perilous way that the government calls it one of the most challenging airports in the country; there is no room for error. And as communities grow and infrastructure ages, risks increase each year.

The auditor general noted a great many Northern airports without proper runway lighting, and without the technology to help pilots know whether they are landing too high or too low.

The airports in Pangnirtung and Kimmirut are too short to accommodate large turboprop planes, and the runways can't be expanded. MLAs have been fighting for new airports in those communities for years.

In addition, hamlets with gravel strips - meaning all except Iqaluit and Rankin Inlet - limit the airlines' ability to bring in larger, more cost-effective planes, leaving smaller communities on the hook for higher travel and freight costs. As if getting by isn't hard enough in these hamlets.

Federal governments - past and present - have done nothing to improve the situation.

The feds have kept the annual pot of $38 million available for airport projects across Canada at the same level for the past 17 years. To put that figure in perspective, the new Iqaluit airport is costing an estimated $300 million.

The Nunavut government stated 2014 that it needed $463 million over 20 years to get the territory's airports up to standard.

That's almost the amount available for the entire country. All Nunavut can do with its budget is focus on fixing the highest risk airports and runways.

The federal government says Nunavut can tap into infrastructure funding apart from the airport fund. But that requires Nunavut to pitch in a significant share, typically 20 to 25 per cent.

The suggestion that Nunavut is to blame is a slap in the face when you consider the plurality of infrastructure needs in Nunavut. If the money is so easy to access, why is so little of it coming North? Nunavut has identified its infrastructure needs. It shouldn't be so hard for the feds to identify projects that it can back.

And yet our fly-in communities sit waiting for funding to secure the infrastructure that connects residents with the outside world.

The feds may say otherwise but the fact is these communities are simply not on Ottawa's radar.

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